HOF's 'Bench' -- The best of the best

Tuesday

Bench strength never looked like this before. The men on “The Bench” in this case are stars even among Pro Football Hall of Famers.

Bench strength never looked like this before.

The men on “The Bench” in this case are stars even among Pro Football Hall of Famers.

They’re nine life-like figures converging to form the most striking display on the revamped second floor of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“The idea was to create a magic bench,” said project manager Mike Callan of New York-based CMDD. “They’re greats who never played together but epitomized the game in a cross section of positions and eras.”

- Walter Payton, who set an NFL career rushing record before dying young.

- “Mean” Joe Greene, defensive mauler from the Pittsburgh dynasty that won four Super Bowls.

- Reggie White, a sack master who died even younger than Payton.

- Anthony Munoz, arguably the greatest offensive left tackle.

- George Halas, who attended the 1920 meeting in Canton at which the NFL was born.

Assembling “The Bench” was as difficult as assembling an all-star roster. Callan worked with a Hall of Fame team headed by Joe Horrigan, the Hall’s vice president of communications and exhibits.

Models approximating the size of each player were used to make full-body molds. Sculptor Karen Atta created the faces after studying films and photographs and digesting stories reflecting idiosyncrasies and nuances.

Each figure appears to be finished in bronze, but the actual material is an inert compound that does not rust. This is important because the “men” are dressed in clothing they actually wore while playing or coaching in the NFL. Rust would spoil the material.

Hall of Fame curator Jason Aikens traveled to New York with what amounted to a wardrobe worth upwards of $400,000. This consisted of jerseys, pants, socks and other items actually worn by Brown, Payton, Greene and others when they played. Aikens directed the dressing of the mannequins, whose arms and legs are removable. No model could be found with biceps as big as Greene’s were, so padding was used under the jersey sleeves.